Chlorinated auxin (4-chloroindole-3-acetic acid, 4-Cl-IAA), a highly potent plant hormone, was once thought to be restricted to species of the tribe Fabeae within the Fabaceae, until we recently detected this hormone in the seeds of Medicago, Melilotus and Trifolium species. The absence of 4-Cl-IAA in the seeds of the cultivated species Cicer aeritinum from the Cicerae tribe, immediately basal to the Fabeae and Trifolieae tribes, suggested a single evolutionary origin of 4-Cl-IAA. Here, we provide a more robust phylogenetic placement of the ability to produce chlorinated auxin by screening key species spanning this evolutionary transition...

CONTEXT: Radix astragali (Fabaceae astragalus propinquus Schischkin) is a Chinese medicinal herb traditionally used for the treatment of several diseases. Calycosin is the major bioactive chemical in the dry root extract of this medical plant. OBJECTIVE: This work presents a brief overview of recent reports on the potential effects of calycosin on several diseases and the possible mechanisms of action of this chemical. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This review gathers information from the scientific literature (before 1 June 2013) that was compiled from various databases, such as Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has become more popular among cancer patients in the Western world, who often use Chinese herbs as adjuvant therapy to reduce the adverse effects of conventional chemotherapy. However, pharmacokinetic (PK) interactions between Chinese herbs and anticancer drugs can occur and have dramatic consequences for these patients. Currently, only a few possible PK interactions between Chinese herbs and conventional Western drugs have been documented...

Radix Astragali (root of Astragalus; Huangqi) is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used as an immunostimulant, hepatoprotective, diuretic, antidiabetic, analgesic, expectorant, and sedative drug. Although the species of Radix Astragali have been defined as Astragalus membranaceus and A. membranaceus var. mongholicus in Pharmacopoeia of China, their taxonomy remains controversial. The phylogenetic relationships among 10 Astragalus taxa, which are commonly found in China including A. membranaceus, A. membranaceus var...

Radix Astragali (root of Astragalus; Huangqi) is a popular traditional Chinese medicine, and Astragalus membranaceus and A. membranaceus var. mongolicus are two commonly used species; however, there are many Astragalus species that could act as adulterants of Radix Astragali. To find the chemical composition of Radix Astragali, the main constituents including flavonoids, saponins, polysaccharides, amino acids, and trace elements were determined in two Radices Astragali, A. membranaceus and A. membranaceus var...